The Cowley County Community College sophomore, set to graduate
in December, is an elementary education major with a 4.0 grade-point
average in his Cowley classes (3.7 cumulative). He is a member
of Phi Theta Kappa, Act One, and Campus Christian Fellowship. He
works at Renn Memorial Library, and in the past has worked at Dillons
and Braums. He has had parts in Cowley musicals, and last spring
was first runner-up in the Mr. CinderFella Pageant.

As busy as he stays, Arnold still finds time to help others. Last
year, he served as a tutor for the special education classroom
at Jefferson Elementary School in Arkansas City, and tutored grades
1-3 at Sacred Heart Catholic School, also in Ark City. He is assistant
director for his church's high school youth group in Kingman, and
took on the challenging assignment as fifth- and sixth-grade Sunday
School teacher. He dedicates time to visit the residents at Medicalodge
East in Ark City, and Park West Senior Plaza in Wichita. He participated
in the Bowl for Kid's Sake 2001, and helped set up for the annual
Senior Senior Prom.

It's little wonder, then, why Arnold was named the college's September
Student of the Month.

"I didn't think my interview went that well," said Arnold,
a Kingman native who attended high school at Bishop Carroll in
Wichita. "I was surprised they (the committee) had decided
so quickly. I think I do a good job here at Cowley, but so many
people do a lot more than I do."

That's hard to believe. Arnold, the son of Therese and Stephan
Arnold, always looks for things to do. In January, he plans to
go to New Mexico to do missionary work on an Indian reservation.
Next fall, he will enroll at Emporia State University to continue
work toward a bachelor's degree in elementary education. Originally,
Arnold wanted to become a high school teacher.

"But when I did volunteer hours at the high school, it was
very boring," he said. "It came down to the last month
(his freshman year), so I got in at Sacred Heart, and volunteered
in the special education classroom at the public school. I really,
really liked it, and I didn't think I'd like that."

He also spent the whole summer teaching first- and second-graders
in Vacation Bible School. He said he's leaning toward teaching
third- and fourth-graders.

"That's a good age," he said. "Their innocence
is awesome. They're so open and honest with their feelings. You'll
know when they're mad. They don't tend to wear masks as much as
adults do."

Arnold is the sixth in a family of eight children. He has five
brothers: Adam, Chris, Paul, Mark, and Daniel, and two sisters:
Julie and Mary. He enjoys drama, reading, and volunteering.

Last fall, he played the role of Sitting Bull in Cowley's musical "Annie
Get Your Gun." This fall, he has secured the part of Tom Sawyer
in "Big River," a part he says isn't a big stretch for
him.

"I want to put as much into Big River as I can," he
said. "I'm not a natural singer, but I think there are Arnold
genetics for being other people. I can understand Tom Sawyer. Sitting
Bull was a different story."
Arnold characterized students of the month as people who are active,
but who also possess other traits.
"The exceptional students here have positive attitudes and are considerate,
who will stop to say 'hi' in the hall," Arnold said. "Kindness goes
a long way."

Out of Bishop Carroll, Arnold hadn't considered Cowley until he
received a letter.

"I was pretty set on this other college," he said, "then
I got a letter from Cowley and I said OK, I'll think about it.
I went for a visit to the college I really wanted to go to and
thought it was nice, but the financial package didn't work out.
So I visited here (at Cowley), and all the people on the staff
were really nice. I talked to (director of technical theatre) Scott
(MacLaughlin) and (Humanities Division chair) Dejon (Ewing) for
a little while. I thought the theatre program was good for me.

"I made the right decision. I feel I've grown a lot here.
It's a good environment. I have no regrets whatsoever. I'd recommend
it to anybody."

Arnold credits his oldest sister, Julie, for steering him down
the right path.

"She made the difference when it really counted," Arnold
said. "I went from small-town Kingman and a tight little eighth-grade
class, to Bishop Carroll, where I made friends, but I couldn't
hang out with them because I had to go back to Kingman after school.
In Kingman, there isn't much to do, so the crowd I fell into wasn't
exactly the best crowd."

Arnold never brushed with the law, but some of the things he did
weren't well received, especially by Julie.
"I was becoming a selfish, bratty teenager," he said. "I was
doing things my parents wouldn't like for that reason. I hid things pretty
well. Later on, I was getting pretty depressed. Mom didn't know, and maybe
Julie did.

"She (Julie) was persistent in inviting me to this one youth
event. Once I was there, we started to get to know each other more.
There's about a 15-year difference in our ages. It was like we
were getting to know each other for the first time. She told me
how she screwed up in high school, and that helped me to realize
I didn't want to be that person. Today, she's one of the most patient,
kind, and humble persons, lots of qualities I aspire toward."